Flexible siding material



Oct. 22, 1940. l.. HERscovlTz FLEXIBLE SIDING vIIIATIEIRLIAL Filed June 17, 1939 IIIIIIIIIIHHIII III ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 22, 1940 UNITED STATES FLEXIBLE SIDING MATERIAL Louis Herscovitz, Park Ridge, Ill., assignor to The Ruberoid Co., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 17, 1939, Serial No. 279,615

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a siding material of the type that when applied simulates the appearanceof a brick wall.

According to my invention, I provide iiexible waterproof sheets of considerable length having brick-like formations embossed thereon separated by depressed horizontal and vertical mo-rtar-like stripes, which sheets are adapted to be applied to the sides of a building or other structure in endbutting and longitudinal edge lapping relation.

It has been found in practice that when such sheets are normally laid the horizontal mortar -stripe immediately below the overlapping edge of the succeeding sheet appears to be wider than the rest of the horizontal stripes, thus marring the symmetrical appearance of the siding.

An object of the present invention is to overcome that objection by providing sheets of such construction that when laid all of the stripes will seem to be 'of uniform width, thus creating a pleasing effect approximating that of a brickl siding.

I accomplish this, as well as other objects, by providing a sheet with a longitudinally extending marking line disposed along its upper edge portion and spaced vertically from the preceding row of brick-like formations a distance less than said formations are spaced vertically from each other.

A further object of the invention is to provide iiexible siding sheets having marking lines formed thereon for demarcating the extent that one sheet overlaps another andthereby to expedite application in proper overlapping relation.

35 Another object is to providea flexible siding sheet of brick simulating type that is adapted to be put up and shipped in roll form so that the material may be conveniently handled and easily applied.

40 The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a View in elevation of a portion of a siding or wall covering formed of the flexible sheets;

45 Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of a portion of one sheet;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a different arrangement of the brick-like formation;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional yView taken on the line 6 8 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is an end view in perspective of a roll for embossing the sheets of Fig. A2.

The siding or wall covering isy formed of flex- 55 ible sheets I0 of rectangular form and of greater length than width laid with thebottom edge portion II of each sheet overlapping the top edge portion I2 of the next lower sheet in the manner indicated in Figure 1.

60 Each sheet is made of a layer I3 of roofing felt or similar lflexible material saturated with asphalt or the like and faced with a coating layer I 4 of suitable bituminous composition.

'I'he coating layer I4 is covered with particles t or granules I5 of mineral matter, either naturally '5 or artificially colored. The sheets are usually put up in rolls, similar to roll roofing, and the back I6 of the sheet is generally sprinkled or dusted with mica or talc to prevent the convolutions from sticking together.

The exposed surface of the sheet in the form as shown in Fig. 2 is embossed with brick-like formations I'l set off between depressed horizontal mortar-like stripes I8 and vertical mortar-like stripes I9 so as to produce the eiect of brick laid 15 Iin horizontal courses separated by mortar lines.` The granules I5 are visible on the brick-like formations but are pressed into the coating of the intervening stripes as seen in Fig. 4'. All or certain of the brick-like formations may be either plain or wire-cut, as desired.

The top longitudinal edge portion I2 of the sheet has a self-contained marking line .20 that serves as a guide for determining the lap of one sheet on another and for defining the width of the mortar stripe 2|. This marking line 2l) consists of a ridge or elevation, as best seen in Fig. 4, of the coating material I4 of the edge portion, and extends the entire length of the sheet parallel to the horizontal rows of brick-like formation.

The vertical distance X between the upper horizontal row of brick-like formation II and the marking line 20 is less than the vertical distance Y between said row and the next lower horizontal row. The distance X represents the width of the stripe 2l on the top of the sheet while the distance Y represents the width of each of the horizontal stripes I8. w

Where all of the horizontal mortar-like stripes 40 are of the same width, the surprising and unexpected result is that the stripe subjacent to the bottom edge of an overlapped sheet appears to be wider than the rest. This mars the symmetry and appearance of asiding formed of such sheets. The optical illusion of greater Width is caused by the shadow cast by the lower edge of the overlapping sheet. I have found that by making the mortar stripe at the top of the sheet slightly narrower than the others, this defect is overcome and 'the appearance of symmetry is produced.

A roll 22 for embossing the sheet and forming the ridge or marking line thereon is shown in Fig. 5. The embossing roll has a groove 23 extending 55 around its circumference, which groove, when the sheet is passed between the embossing roll and a smooth surfaced roll or bed, serves to raise the marking line 20 on the bituminous coating I4 at one end of the sheet at the same time that the n brick-like formations are embossed on the surface of the sheet. The circumferential ribs 24 and the transverse ribs 25 impress the mortar stripes I8 and i9, respectively, in the sheet. The surface portion 26 of the roll containing the groove 23 lies in substantially the same plane as the outer surface of the ribs 24 and 25, while the portions 21 that mold the brick-like formations are depressed below that plane.

It is to be understood that the illustration of the embossing roll is somewhat diagrammatic and that this structure is subject to change. Where, for instance, the individual sheets l0 are originally formed from a sheet of double width and then severed longitudinally into two strips, the grooves 23 may be formed in the central portion of the embossing roll instead of at the end.

A modiication of the sheet is shown in Fig. 3 in which the brick-like formations 28 extend vertically from the lower edge and are separated by vertical mortar stripes 29 to form what is commonly known as a soldier course. The sheet is provided with a marking line 30 that is spaced from the upper ends of the bricks 29 to define therebetween a mortar stripe 3| which may be of substantially the same width as the mortar stripe 2l previously described. The marking line 30 of this sheet serves the same purposes as the marking line 20 of the sheet shown in Fig. 2.

'Ihe sheets are applied to the sides of a structure or building with their end edges butting and with the lower edge of each sheet above the first sheet overlapping' the upper edge of the next lower sheet. The sheets may be applied directly to the sides of the building or they may be laid over siding previously applied. In the latter case, sheets of waterproof corrugated board may be laid over the siding to produce a smooth, rigid nailing surface before the sheets l0 are applied. As an alternative, ordinary builders lath may be used to ll in the hollows of the old siding,

and sheets of felt sheathing saturated with a waterproof composition may be applied under the flexible brick simulating sheets. The sheets i0 are applied so that the bottom edge of each is directly over the marking line of the sheet below, as indicated in Figure 1, and each sheet as it is applied is secured by face nails. If desired, ashing strips of waterproof roofing felt may be used underneath the butt-joints of adjoining sheets but because the length of the sheets is ordinarily sufficient to cover at least one side of an ordinary house, such flashing strips are seldom necessary.

The sheets are usually manufactured about forty-three feet long and fifteen and one-half inches wide, each containing about sixty bricklike formations I1 to a row. When the mortar stripes I8 are made seven-sixteenths of an inch wide, I have found that the desired optical eiect is attained by making the stripes 2l and 3| each ve-sixteenths of an inch wide. sions are merely illustrative and are subject to variation.

'The material is put up in rolls for convenience in shipping and handling. Before use the rolls .should preferably be kept in a warm place, and

These dimen- While the flexible siding material is generally marketed in rolls, it maybe cut up at the factory into strips of suitable length and mounted on a backing of insulating board, or otherwise used.

I claim:

1. A siding element adapted to be laid in over-.

lapping courses with similar elements, comprising a relatively long sheet of flexible waterproof material adapted to be wound in roll form, said sheet being ornamented with a plurality of horizontal rows of brick-like formations set olf between horizontal and vertical mortar-like stripes, the upper edge portion of the sheet having a lapjoint Aguide line extending parallel to the rows of brick-like formations and spaced therefrom a distance less than said rows are spaced from one another, to indicate the lap-joint of a succeeding element, and the lower edge of said sheet defining the lower edge of the lower row of bricklike formations thereon.

2. A siding element adapted to be laid in overlapping courses with similar elements, comprising a flexible sheet coated with bituminous composition having a plurality of horizontal rows of raised brick-like formations on the coating and set off between depressed horizontal and vertical mortar-like stripes, said sheet having a lap-joint guide line formed along its upper edge portion parallel to the rows of brick-like formationsand spaced therefrom a distance'less than said rows are spaced from one another, to indicate the lapjoint of a succeeeding element, and the lower edge of said sheet defining the lower edge of the lower row of brick-like formations thereon.

3. A siding composed of a plurality of vsheets of waterproof material laid with the bottom edge portion of each sheet in lap-joint with the top edge portion of the next lower sheet, each sheet having horizontal rows of brick-like formations uniformly spaced from one another and having an integral lap-joint guide line along its top edge portion spaced upward from the uppermost row of brick-like formations a distance less than that which separates said rows from one another, the loweredge of each sheet defining the lower edge of thel lower row of brick-like formations thereon, whereby when the sheets are laid in lap-joint relation with the bottom edge of one in registration with the lap-joint guide line of the next lower one a mortar stripe is left exposed below the lapjoint of less width than that of the other mortar stripes but an optical illusion is created that all of the mortar stripes are of uniform width.

4. A siding element adapted to be laid in overlapping courses with similar elements, comprising a sheet of fiexible water-proof roofing felt coated with bituminous composition and grit, said sheet having rectangular brick-like formations thereon raised slightly above the plane of the sheet, said brick-like formations being uniformly spaced horizontally apart in each row, and each row being uniformly spaced vertically from the next lower row, and a ridge of the coating composition extending parallel to the uppermost row of brick-like formations and spaced vertically therefrom a distance less than the rows are spaced vertically from one another and forming a lapjoint guide, the lower edge of the siding element dening the lower edge of the lower row of bricklike formations thereon.

. LOUIS HERSCOVITZ. 

